Resolutions for a New Year
by toastycakes
Summary: All Sora wanted was someone to love.  So his New Year's resolution was to go out and find that someone.  Imagine his surprise when the universe decides to give him someone instead.  Too bad the universe decided he needed a guy. SoRi AU
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: **Umm, yes. So I realize that I shouldn't start this when I have just started another story not long ago, but this idea has been bugging me for a long time. My other story (which is a Naruto fic if you want to check it out) will be taking precedent over this one, so expect long waits in-between chapters unless I get very suddenly inspired for this. But, it won't be killed off unless nobody likes this story, which I'm hoping won't happen because it's become my baby and I want people to like this. I'm hoping this will have a much lighter tone than my other KH fic (which should be easy considering neither of the boys will be angsting over each other just yet). Anyway, thanks for stoping by and I hope that you all like this!

**Disclaimer:** still don't own KH, but that doesn't stop me from writing about it :)

* * *

**Chapter 1**

Love is never easy for anyone. Well…maybe for some people it's easy, but they were just part of that less than one percent of the world's population that found true love and never needed anyone else. Sora knew for a fact that he was not part of that less than one percentile, and also happened to know that he was part of yet another obscure percentile in the world of love. And that would be the one in which he was destined to ruin every relationship he ever began.

It had all started in second grade with a girl named Lisa. She was nice enough and got along well with everyone. The only thing Sora really remembered about her was that she had freckles and always wore her hair in neatly braided pigtails. Anyway, Lisa was a good friend of Sora's, who was also rather well liked and friendly with everyone, and one day Lisa declared that they were going steady. Unfortunately, the relationship ended in that fickle way second graders always end it when the girl decided she liked what another boy had better. She was only after Sora's Tasty Cakes after all, and once his mom had decided he should replace them with carrots (his favorite vegetable that he didn't really mind having in place of his favorite treat), it was all down hill from there. Lisa had shown up the next day, ignoring Sora completely and sidling up to a boy who was gladly sharing his Tasty Cakes with her. Needless to say, they were over after that.

Although second grade Sora didn't mind this turn of events so much, second grade Sora didn't realize the amount of relationships he would go through that would end in much the same way (although they weren't all about another boy with Tasty Cakes…except for one, but Agnes was a strange and fickle girl who had an unnerving penchant for Tasty Cakes; Sora was actually quite glad when that one was over).

And so, through much trial and error (lots and lots of error) and many a failed relationship, Sora was now currently single. He had been, for the past year, trying to get over his latest relationship, and he had secretly made a pact with himself not to dive into any new relationships so soon. Sora had kept the promise to himself, but with the start of a new year coming up, he was beginning to feel lonely. There isn't much fun in life between just working two jobs he didn't really like and sulking about his lack of love life. Well, there were his friends, but he could barely find any time to go out with them anyway because of his two jobs.

In any case, despite his "packed" schedule and apparent utter lack of social life, Sora had miraculously ended up with two days off of both his jobs on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day and, typically, had no place to go as a result of the sudden and miraculous occurrence.

Sora pondered on what he should do with his two days off in the last half hour of his shift for the day. Party was an obvious one, as was drinking. The only question was who with. As he heard something shatter, Sora quickly decided that he could think about this later and began picking up pieces of a broken plate.

Sora's two jobs consisted of working in a coffee shop in the mornings and sometimes the afternoons, and working as a bus boy in a rather expensive restaurant. He was currently at the latter, which was possibly the worse of the two to be distracted in. (He could potentially be burned by scalding coffee if he spilt it on himself at the first, but his boss was pretty good about not making him pay for the lost coffee. At the other, while he could be cut occasionally by the stray steak knife or broken plate, he would lose pay if he ever happened to break anything.) Unfortunately, tonight was not his night, and he managed to break one wine glass and three china plates, all of which were to come out of his pay.

After work (and an unnecessarily long and loud rant from his boss about being careful with the dishes and a threat to take back his two vacation days), Sora mentally counted the cost and subtracted it from the total money he would make. He groaned. He would just barely be able to make rent, and it obviously wouldn't leave much for groceries, if any at all. Hmmm…maybe he could mooch some food off of Naminé and Roxas? The twins were always welcome to having Sora over and they normally took care to see that Sora was doing all right.

Maybe he could ask them when he asked what they were doing the next two days…

And so, Sora headed home, ready for a good night's rest after eating what little he had left in his refrigerator (which was two eggs, some cheese, a container of spoiled milk he had yet to throw out, a can of beer, and a half eaten slice of pizza that was slowly cultivating a little family of mold spores; there was a container of ramen in his cupboard as well, but he wanted to save that for tomorrow). He thought of the wonderful parties he would actually be able to attend now that he had the days off, as well as the wonderful food his friends would (hopefully) be able to provide him with. He hadn't expected to arrive at his apartment to see his door cracked open.

(Nor did he expect who it was that had entered his humble (and messy) abode.)

Expecting a burglar, Sora entered his apartment cautiously. Sora didn't live in the nicest area of the city, but he liked to think that his apartment was in a fairly decent neighborhood. It wasn't that he had never heard of one of his fellow apartment dwellers being robbed by the local kids, he just hadn't thought it would happen to him. He normally kept the dead bolt on his door locked, as well as the normal lock on the rusting door knob. He didn't pause to see that the dead bolt hadn't been broken open.

As soon as he slipped inside, Sora heard a rustling and then the dull thump of something being closed. He paused, looked around the tiny entrance that led into his living room, and found an umbrella he had tossed near the door last week after that bad storm that had gone on for three days. He picked up the umbrella as a potential weapon and moved on as quietly as possible, which is a very difficult task for a clumsy person like Sora. Luckily, he was able to make it to the kitchen without incident, which was where the noise had come from. Taking a deep breath, he prepared himself to see who had broken into his home. Then he jumped around the corner into his kitchen.

In that moment, three things happened:

One: Sora yelled, "I have an umbrella and I'm not afraid to use it!"

Two: the umbrella popped open unexpectedly.

Three: Sora fell over from the surprise; not that tripping over a shirt that had somehow fallen from his laundry basket the last time he went to do his wash and had yet to put away helped.

And then a petite blonde haired girl peeked over the edge of his umbrella with a worried concern in her eyes and a surprised hand to her chest. "Oh my goodness, are you okay?" she asked quickly with her delicate voice.

Sora sighed in relief, leaning his head back to 'thunk' on the floor. It wasn't a burglar, as he had thought, just Naminé. The tiny girl wouldn't hurt a fly, much less rob a house.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he replied with a grin as she helped him up. "The door was still open a little, so I thought someone broke in."

Naminé brought a tiny hand up to her mouth as a light blush of shame crossed her cheeks. "Did I forget to close the first lock again?"

His door wouldn't stay closed unless the doorknob's lock was fastened.

"Seems like it. Sorry if I scared you by the way," he told her. He closed the umbrella in his hand and gave a mournful sigh in his head.

_More bad luck, just what I need_, he thought in reference to the umbrella having been opened indoors. He wasn't sure how long the bad luck for that lasted, but knew he already had an infinite amount stacked against him (in his love life anyway).

"Oh, no, it's okay. I'm sorry I scared you too," Naminé said gently, following her friend into the living room where he was putting away the umbrella in his closet.

"It's alright. The umbrella was to blame too, the stupid piece of junk. I need to get a new one," Sora said, throwing the said object into his closet where it popped open again, as if angry with the mistreatment. Sora quickly slammed the door closed. "I knew that thing was possessed. It's on to me."

Naminé giggled. "I'm sure it is Sora. Just like your toaster and the oven."

"Hey! I never did anything to start those fires! They're out to get me, I tell you!" he exclaimed.

She just laughed and nodded. They both knew Sora really _was_ the cause of the fires, not being very adept at safely using an oven at any general time and having "forgotten" that he put a bagel in his toaster once so long that it caught fire from the heat.

"So anyway, now that you've successfully broken into my house, to what do I owe the pleasure of having you here?" Sora asked in a dignified voice that was accompanied by his usual goofy grin. He motioned her over to the worn down couches that spilled stuffing from tiny rips and was covered with stains from spilled drinks. It may have been messy, but it was comfortable and he liked it.

Naminé smiled and took a seat on the right side of the couch. Sora joined her on the left side. "Roxas wanted me to check on you. He's busy right now. I thought your shift might be over soon, so I would just come here and wait for you to get back. I only just got here before you came in with the umbrella."

"He's such a worry-wart, but he never shows it. What's he busy with this time?" Sora asked, knowing that his friend usually came up with excuses and then sent his twin over to investigate. It was just Roxas' way of showing he cared, though he'd never admit it in a million years.

"He really is busy this time though!" Naminé insisted, knowing as well as Sora the excuses her brother usually made. "He has the night shift this time, so he's gone until six tomorrow morning."

Sora shifted a little, sitting straighter. He glanced at his clock. It was only eleven now. "I see. And how is he doing? Is he sleeping enough?"

She shrugged and looked down. "When he can. You know how he is."

"Which means not at all. He should stop taking overnight shifts if it's getting bad."

"You know he won't. He's stubborn like that," she said with another shrug. She looked back up with a little smile. "But enough about that," she was avoiding it and Sora knew it, but let it go, "you need to get some food."

Sora laughed nervously, and scratched the back of his neck. "Uhh, yeah. I know. I'm picking up my paycheck tomorrow, but I don't think I'll have much left over for food." He coughed a little, embarrassed that he had to ask (but hey, he needed the food; he wasn't about to just starve to death). "So I was wondering if you and Roxas could lend me some money or toss some leftovers my way or something…"

"Of course," she said in that motherly way of hers Sora had always liked. Despite having a decent relationship with his own mother, Naminé had been one to take care of him whenever he needed something or someone to listen to him after his numerous break-ups ever since he moved out to Traverse Town. He felt closer to her than his own mother after only two years hearing her worry and fuss over him, which was more than his actual mother did, who only called once a year on his birthday to congratulate him on still living. "I can bring over some leftovers tomorrow and a couple of other things if you'd like?"

"Yeah, thanks a lot," Sora said gratefully before remembering what else he had wanted to ask the twins. "Hey, what are you and Roxas doing tomorrow and the day after for New Years?"

Naminé's eyes lit up.

"You got those days off?" she asked. Sora nodded happily. "I did too! Roxas might have to work on New Years day, but he doesn't have work tomorrow."

"We should all get out and do something then!" the brunette boy exclaimed, excited to be able to get out and have some fun.

"Demyx is playing at a club downtown. Roxas and I were planning to go visit him with Leon, and some others," Naminé told him.

"Sounds good. Just tell me when you guys want to go, and I'll be ready."

"Demyx said he won't be playing until about ten or eleven, so we'll probably go about an hour before then."

"So how about before then?" Sora asked, not wanting to have to spend the entire day alone.

"We'll hang out! And do a little catching up with the others since it's been a while since we've all gotten together at the same time," Naminé replied excitedly. The brunette grinned. At last he could go out and have some fun with all of his friends! It had been much too long since he had been able to do that. He wouldn't have much money for drinks, but he could probably mooch off of Leon or something if he really wanted to. As grouchy as Leon was for the most part, Sora knew that he had a soft spot for his friends and when prodded right, he could be made to do anything as long as it didn't involve public displays of affection coming from his end.

Naminé returned his grin with her trade mark shy smile and the pair high fived, both looking forward to the next day of drinking, partying, and friends.

* * *

It was the next morning when a loud knocking was heard from the door of Sora's apartment. Not quite ready to get up as it was only ten in the morning, and Sora usually liked to sleep in on the rare occasion that he did not end up with a morning shift, the owner of the apartment simply rolled over with a grunt in acknowledgment to whoever decided ten in the morning was a reasonable hour to wake him at. As if sensing Sora's utter lack of respect for guests at this time in the morning, there was another loud knock that even sounded annoyed, followed closely by an equally irritated voice, "Sora, you better get up and open this door or I'll open it for you."

It wasn't yelled, but the threat was clear. Recognizing the voice even through his sleep addled mind, Sora knew not to mess with his waker and that they would most definitely break down the door if it weren't opened soon. Sora certainly had enough experience to know it would happen too, and he wasn't about to add another door to his list of many things to pay for. So he jumped from his bed, stumbling as the sheets of his bed caught around his legs, and quickly made his way to his door without bothering to make himself presentable. It wouldn't have made much of a difference considering his hair was always a mess and the person at the door had seen him in worse states of dress before. He just needed to get to the door before it got knocked in.

And luckily he made it in time, slamming the door open with a tired, sheepish smile at the taller, older brunette male standing in his doorway, plastic bags in hand. "Hey Leon. Long time no see!"

"Well you're as predictable as usual," the man commented before letting himself into Sora's apartment. The shorter male stepped aside and then closed the door, making sure to close the locks as well.

"You're the one that threatened to knock my door in. It's not my fault I didn't get a chance to get ready or anything," Sora replied. "I didn't even know you were coming over!"

"Naminé sent me over with some groceries. She said she wanted you to have breakfast and then go over to their place when you were ready," Leon told his friend in a rather indifferent tone. He placed the plastic bags on the small table in the small, designated kitchen area and began taking things out to put away. Sora raised an eyebrow though as he moved to the table to help.

"And why'd she send you?"

Leon shrugged. "Somebody asked her to take the morning shift at the book shop and I slept over last night. I figured it was the least I could do for letting me spend the night."

"And you wanted to see my adorable face, right?" Sora asked, batting his eyes at the other with an innocent smile on his lips. Leon rolled his eyes and ruffled Sora's hair as he passed to put the last of the food away.

"Sure chibi. Whatever you say."

Sora stuck his tongue out at the sarcastic tone and Leon bopped him lightly on the head. "You want me to make you something?" Leon asked. Sora thought it over.

It had been a while since Leon cooked him anything. And Leon was a fantastic cook. So…

"Yes please!"

The taller man just nodded and began taking out the ingredients for an omelet. It was nice, the fact the Leon was cooking for him. Not just for the fact that he didn't have to make something himself (which usually didn't come out very well), but for the fact that nobody had cooked him something in a long time. It really had been a long time since he'd seen Leon. The older man had been away in another city for the longest time, having been transferred there when he got promoted. Even though he had still heard from Leon occasionally, he would still feel a little bit lonely when he realized that he couldn't just hop on over to Leon's apartment to bug him if he wanted. He could do it over the phone, but it just wasn't the same. He had really missed Leon.

"How was San Francisco?" Sora asked at last, since he hadn't gotten a chance to ask about it since he had come back.

"It was nice for the most part. The higher ups were asses, but I learned a lot when I was there," Leon replied absently.

"So why'd you come back?"

Leon swiveled his head to look at Sora with a raised eyebrow. "I couldn't just leave you to burn down your apartment, could I?"

The younger pouted. "Twice! It only happened twice and I swear it wasn't my fault!"

And like with Naminé, Leon didn't believe it for a second. He knew just how Sora was in a kitchen, which was why he cooked for the younger boy so often before he left. It made him wonder how Sora had managed to keep from burning down the apartment when he was away in San Francisco. With a noncommittal shrug, he just finished the omelet and served it to the waiting brunette on one of the chipped plates that had seen so much ware in this apartment. Sora thanked the other for the food and dug in like he hadn't eaten in days. And considering how barren his refrigerator and cupboards had been, it wouldn't have been too surprising if Sora were to tell him that he hadn't been eating much lately. He _did_ look thinner than before.

"You need to eat more. You're getting too skinny."

Sora paused in scarfing down his food. He looked down at himself and then back up at Leon with a pout. "I would if Sephiroth would stop taking expenses for the plates I break out of my paycheck."

"And the way to fix that is to stop breaking plates," Leon countered, folding his arms across his chest. Sora just pouted some more and finished up his omelet quickly.

"I can't help it if I get distracted sometimes."

Messy brown hair was ruffled.

"And the way to fix _that_ is to learn to concentrate on what you're doing more."

Sora stuck his tongue out at the older man again, to which Leon merely smirked as he was prone to do when teasing the younger one. It was familiar and both had missed it.

"I'm really glad you're back, ya know?" Sora said, grinning now. Leon nodded and grunted, which Sora took as his being glad to be back as well. So he tackle hugged the older man because he knew how Leon was with public displays of affection or saying how he really felt.

"Brat," was Leon's response, but it wasn't hostile or anything. Sora just laughed.

"Let's go!"

…

"I'm not carrying you there, brat," Leon said as he realized that Sora wasn't going to be getting off any time soon.

"Boo! You're no fun!" Sora said as he was pulled from the other's back. Leon just rolled his eyes and started walking toward the door. Sora followed suit, grabbing his shoes and jacket on the way.

* * *

Roxas had always taken night shifts. Not that they were his preference, but Cid seemed to think he was good at it and the customers liked too. He always hated himself afterward because he was so dead tired, but lately they didn't seem quite as bad. And he knew it had something to do with a certain red head with tear drop tattoos beneath his eyes and a certain penchant for staring at fire.

Roxas worked at a bar, which a middle aged, brute of a man named Cid owned. It was open at all hours of the day and did fairly well for a regular bar in New York City. Occasionally there were bands that played and local performers that did shows which brought in more customers and therefore more profit. Now Roxas worked the midnight shifts regularly and tended the bar as was his job, so he met a good number of people this way, some nice, others (mostly) annoying as hell. But as for this red head, Roxas wasn't quite sure where to put him.

Every time he came in he was with a blonde woman. She was decent: pretty face, short hair slicked back in a way that suited her, curves in the right places. The only thing Roxas hadn't liked about her was the way she talked down to everyone else and insulted others around her without a care. The red head didn't seem to mind and tended to her just as well as Roxas tended the bar, and though he wouldn't join to insult others, he would berate her in a joking manner close to his girlfriend's but comparatively much kinder. It was strange, and they didn't seem to fit together to Roxas, but he had seen stranger things in his time working at the bar.

Whenever the blonde would storm off or just leave, as if she had forgotten that the red head had accompanied her to the bar, he would talk to Roxas, already beginning the journey to a drunken stupor. He would apologize for her patronizing behavior and say she used to be such a sweet girl in a tone that never truly convinced Roxas that such a fact could be true. And then he would tease Roxas or ask him questions as if he wanted to get to know the bartender passing him drinks. If he thought he could buddy up with the bartender for free drinks, the guy had another thing coming. But that didn't stop Roxas from indulging the drunk man with information he would probably forget in the morning. Like the fact that Roxas hated sweets but loved waffles for breakfast when he had time for them. Or that Roxas watched Spanish soap operas occasionally when his sister wasn't home. Things he probably would never have told anyone else.

It was probably because Roxas didn't even know the man's name, and he never saw the man outside of the bar. Only when he came with the blonde and then drank himself away when she left.

Recently he had come nearly every night with her.

Tonight he hadn't come.

It wasn't that Roxas had noticed right away. He hadn't even thought about it until he was back home at seven in the morning, ready to sleep and gather some energy for the celebration that he wouldn't have to work through for once. It was a fleeting thought that a regular hadn't come in and talked to him or teased him or joked with him about some customer on the other side of the bar.

It didn't really bother him.

It was just a thought he had before he fell asleep.

* * *

When Sora and Leon arrived at the twins' apartment, they were quickly ushered back out by Naminé who had left a note for the exhausted and sleeping Roxas saying that they would be visiting with Demyx to meet his new drummer. Demyx had been bragging about the newest addition to the band ever since he joined, and he had been pestering them to meet the infamous drummer at some point. Naminé figured they might as well seeing as they would be watching the band's performance later today anyway. That and she didn't want Sora anywhere near the house, because he was certainly known for being loud and potentially breaking things at inopportune moments. And so, this was how they ended up at Tifa's apartment, above her delivery service which was closed for the holidays.

"Nami! You came!" Demyx exclaimed when they walked into the room. He rushed over and hugged the blonde girl, twirling her around. Naminé giggled quietly and waited patiently for him to set her down. "Nice to see everyone else too! Good to see you back in town Leon."

"How long are you going to be around this time?" Tifa asked from the side while she tuned her bass, strumming it every once in a while. Zexion, the keyboardist, sat behind his instrument absorbed in a book, though he did glance up at their arrival and give an acknowledging nod of his head. The one none of them recognized was a blonde, spiky haired man that twirled a drum stick in his hand as he evaluated the people that had just crowded into the apartment with the band.

Leon examined the new person as he answered Tifa, "Long enough."

"Needed to check up on Sora, right?" Demyx asked, ignoring Sora's indignant protest to needing someone look after him.

"Hn," Leon replied with a shrug. "Someone has to."

"Thanks for talking about me like I'm not even here, guys," Sora pouted. Then he yelped as Demyx grabbed Sora around the neck and gave him a noogie.

"We only do it because we care!"

Tifa laughed in the background. Zexion never looked up, used to the usual antics of the band leader's and his friends, while Cloud watched on with a slight expression of interest. While Sora struggled to break free of his friend's grip, Leon decided to ask what he knew Naminé and Sora also wanted to know.

"Who's the new guy?"

Demyx perked up and dropped Sora, who was off balance anyway and fell to the floor with an 'oof!'. Skipping over to his newest addition, the sitar player put his hands on the blonde man's shoulders with a grin. "This is Cloud. He's a friend of Tifa's and is staying here for the time being while being out newest drummer! Cloud, these are friends and fans Sora, Leon, and Naminé."

Each person nodded or waved when their name was called, allowing Cloud to see who was who.

"So where's Roxas?" Tifa asked, finished tuning now.

"He had the night shift at the bar, so he's sleeping right now. He'll be there tonight though and he won't be working either," Naminé told her with her quiet smile. The dark haired woman smiled back.

"That's good. He should try to get more rest though. Has he been sleeping well?"

"As well as he ever does," Naminé replied. Tifa hummed and nodded her head. It was obvious to everyone that knew Tifa that she would be having a talk with Roxas that night about his sleeping habits. Tifa was a mixture of a doting big sister and a concerned mother. She constantly worried over her friends and liked to make sure everyone was doing alright.

"Well," Demyx said, now back with his sitar strapped on, "would you all like a preview performance?"

All three took their seats, Leon on a couch with Sora laying on his lap and Naminé sitting comfortably in a worn out arm chair, while the band discussed what to practice for the show that night. They didn't want to play through everything, but everything they did sounded great to the three listeners. Cloud did his part and held his own very well for having just been brought into the band and learned new songs. He seemed to take his work with the band seriously, but he looked as though he were enjoying it as well. Even though Sora hadn't heard the blonde say much all rehearsal, he seemed like a gentle soul or a calm one at least. He liked the guy from what he had seen and heard since meeting him and he was glad Demyx had been able to find a drummer as good as Cloud.

He knew the concert at the bar would be a hit, and he certainly hoped that Demyx's band got signed one day. They deserved it.

After practice, Tifa treated everyone to lunch at a café the group minus Cloud were familiar with. It was small and run by three girls, Yuna, Rikku, and Paine plus their two employees, Wakka and Tidus. The exterior was modest. A small green striped canopy over the door and a large square window to show off the desserts and treats the girls made on a daily basis. The interior held small wooden tables and chairs for the customers, a bar to order the food at, and photos of exotic places, some with the owners in them and some not. The trio had traveled a lot together before settling down in New York City to stay.

"Hello everyone," the brunette woman, Yuna, said as they entered.

"What can we do for ya?" a blonde, Rikku, asked as she passed, arms full of dirty plates. Through a door to the kitchen was the third owner, Paine, a short haired woman with red eyes and quiet disposition, could be seen making a dish for a customer. The group said their hellos to the women and took up two of the tables near the back of the café. Rikku came soon after asking for drink orders and to whisk away more empty plates left by recent customers. Once the orders were squared away, conversation picked up again.

"So Cloud, tell us a little about yourself," Sora said, curious about the newest member to their group. There weren't many the brunette didn't get along with, and he hoped Cloud wouldn't be one of them. The blonde man, meanwhile, shifted in his chair looking a little stiff with so much attention on him.

"I'm a friend of Tifa's," he started, his voice quiet and deep but strong as well.

"We've known each other since high school and he used to work at my shop when it first opened," Tifa chipped in, knowing her friend didn't like to talk much. "Then he moved away for a while before coming back to live with me again."

"Oh? Where did you go?" Naminé asked.

"Not far. I thought it was time to get my own place, but certain…circumstances have led me back to staying with Tifa for the moment," Cloud replied. He seemed uncomfortable, and though more than a few were interested to know what kind of circumstances they could have been, everyone respected his privacy to keep things to himself. At least for now.

"Well, then how did you become a drummer?" Demyx asked, moving the conversation on to another topic.

"I was actually in another band in high school with Tifa."

Demyx's jaw dropped as he looked at his bassist and then snapped shut into a pout. "No fair Tifa! You never told me you were in another band!"

The dark haired woman rolled her eyes and lightly bopped the sitar player on his head. "It was a long time ago and the band never went anywhere. We weren't all that good either."

"But you could have at least told me!" Demyx whined. And then another hand smacked him on the back of the head, which belonged to the mostly silent Zexion whose nose was still buried in a book, small reading glasses perched on his nose.

"Don't whine. If it were important, she would have told you," the silver haired man said, eyes peeking up over the edge of the open book. Demyx held a small staring contest with the man while the rest continued on and ignored them.

"Well even if your band wasn't very good back then, you were pretty awesome from what I heard," Sora said with a grin.

Cloud answered with a small smile and a "Thanks." And then Rikku came back with drinks and a note pad to write down their orders. She was also officially introduced to Cloud as Demyx's new drummer and the newest addition to their group. She gave him a warm welcome and promised a little percent off for the group if the band would advertise the café at their performance that night. Demyx replied that they always did, and Rikku walked back to the kitchen with their orders.

"So Sora, it's been a while. You've been busy lately, haven't you?" Tifa asked with a smile.

"Yeah, I've been putting in a lot of hours so I could buy gifts for Christmas _and_ pay for rent. I got lucky though and now I have today and tomorrow completely free," the brunette replied. Tifa nodded.

"Well that's good. At least you can go out and have some fun this year."

"So then is Kairi gonna come tonight too?" Demyx asked innocently, unaware of just how that question made Sora freeze on the spot.

"Um, well…"

"She broke up with him, Dem," Naminé intervened. The table went silent.

Demyx's expression immediately became apologetic. He knew Sora's bad luck with romance, but he and Kairi had been together for nearly two years and he'd thought for sure that the spiky haired kid had found some stability in a relationship. And since Sora had been so busy, possibly a side effect of the break up, Demyx hadn't seen him in a while. In fact the only ones that had really known of the break up were Naminé and Roxas, who had been there for him when Kairi had broken it off.

"Oh, Sora," Tifa said, wanting to hug the poor boy. He waved her back down, knowing what she was going to do when she began to stand up, and gave his best smile to everyone.

"I'm fine, really. It's not that big a deal," he said. And even though it did still hurt, because he had really thought things were working between Kairi and him, he didn't want everyone to make a fuss. His luck with love sucked anyway. He supposed he should have seen it coming. A big hand ruffled his hair and Sora looked up at Leon, sitting next to him.

"Even though I know you're not okay, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt for now. Just don't be an emotional drunk tonight, okay?"

And even though that made Sora want to cry that Leon knew him well enough not to push things and still show his concern, he smiled and nodded.

The food came. The conversation moved on to other things as everyone caught up with everyone else and Tifa shared funny stories about Cloud with everyone, who wanted to crawl under the table by the end but wouldn't because he wouldn't be a man if he did. The rest of lunch was filled with laughs and more getting-to-know-you questions for Cloud. Though he wouldn't answer some of them with straight forward answers, he still seemed like an okay guy. Plus he could play a mean drum, and that was a good thing for the band. Plus, a little mystery was always good.

By the end of lunch, Naminé, Sora, and Leon split up with the band to go check up on Roxas. Naminé wanted her twin to rest, but she didn't want him to sleep all day either. She figured if he wasn't up by now, then it was just about time he did. So they said their goodbyes to the band members and went to go check up on Roxas. It wouldn't be too much longer then until the festivities around the city began.

On his way out of the café, Sora bumped into a man on his way in.

"Sorry!" he said quickly, glancing at the person he had hit by accident. He caught a flash of white teeth grinning and silver hair underneath a dark gray knit hat before he completely passed the man, only faintly hearing the reply of, "It's fine," on his way out.

The hair color was enough to make the second long encounter stick in his mind, but not for very long. Naminé and Leon were waiting for him after all. And there was a sleepy Roxas to wake up and jump as well.

* * *

**Author's Note:** And there it is. Much lighter than the last one, right? But there are undertones, so get ready for drama later on. Let me know what you think of my baby. Review, review, review! :)


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:** So here's another chapter. Next one will probably take longer, but this one's up because I wanted to post something today. Why you might ask? Because it's my birthday! Finally 18! Woot! So this is my present to all of you now that I'm officially an adult now as of August 26th. I hope you all enjoy this!

**Disclaimer: **don't own KH or all the awesomeness it encompasses.

**Warning: **boy's loving boys, denial, random run-ins, drunken partying, making friends with strangers, Demyx being clingy, and various other things. Thank you for your time, now go read :)

* * *

**Chapter 2**

"Oh Rooooxaaaaas, time to wake up now!" Sora yelled as he ran through the apartment to his friend's bedroom, and then jumped on the sleeping blonde. Roxas let out a loud grunt at the impact, struggled a bit with Sora sitting on top of him, and then threw the extra weight off of him as he sat up. The blonde male looked none too happy to have been woken up in such a manner and made that clear by glaring at the brunette boy before him.

"Sora, what the hell are you doing in here?" he asked through clenched teeth. It felt as if he hadn't slept at all! The little brat could at least be considerate and let him sleep a while longer if he was going to have any energy to go out with him that night. Sora pouted.

"Naminé told me I could wake you up," he explained. "We're all gonna go out for an early dinner soon and then it's off to the bar to go watch Demyx and his band. Oh, and we met his new drummer by the way. His name is Cloud and he's a really nice—"

"Sora," Roxas interrupted the rambling. Sora grinned sheepishly.

"Time to go now?" he asked.

"Time to go now," Roxas replied.

"Okay! Naminé's making you a sandwich, so get ready to go party!" Sora exclaimed as he bounded out of the room. Roxas sighed heavily. That guy had way too much energy to handle, especially when he was just waking up. He looked over to check the time. Only three o'clock. There was a lot of time before they would need to go to the bar to see Demyx. Damn. He could have slept longer, but Naminé would probably scold him for it if he had. His sleep schedule was already screwed enough because of his job as it was, so he supposed it was good that she had gotten Sora to wake him up.

He stood up, stretched and yawned, then headed for the shower. When he finished he got dressed in a simple white t-shirt with a simple black design on it and paired that with black jeans and the wristbands, rings, and necklaces he usually wore when he wasn't working. As Sora had promised, a sandwich was waiting for him out on the table with a glass of milk next to it courtesy of Naminé.

Naminé and Sora were sitting in front of the television watching some kind of Spanish soap opera (a re-run that he could afford to miss but liked to watch anyway), along with someone he hadn't expected to be there.

"Hey Leon. What's up?" he asked, taking a bite of his sandwich and then taking a seat on the floor next to Sora's feet. The feet started poking and prodding at him, so Roxas smacked them and moved over to Naminé's side of the couch she and Sora were occupying. Leon sat in a separate arm chair, leaning back and watching the soap opera with a bored expression. He looked over at Roxas when he greeted the other.

"Nothing. I see you're still working graveyard shifts," Leon said, and then returned his attention to the television. Roxas shrugged, chewing on his sandwich.

"More money. Bars definitely aren't graveyards at midnight," he replied.

"There's always someone looking to drink," Leon agreed. On the couch, Sora stretched out so that he was laying his head on Naminé's lap. She didn't notice much at his change in position, but began threading her fingers through soft brunette spikes.

"We have plenty of time before Demyx plays tonight. Was there anything you wanted to do Roxas?" the blonde woman asked her twin. He shrugged, mouth too full to answer her verbally.

"Let's get some booze and start drinking!" Sora suggested with a grin. Roxas scowled at his friend.

"It's only three and we're going to be drinking all night, anyway," he said, and then smirked. "Besides, I don't think a lightweight like you could handle all that."

Sora pouted, making Naminé giggle.

"Well we have to find something to do until then," she said.

"Oh! We need to get fireworks!" Sora sat up, excitement making him bounce at the idea. It had been a while since he had set off fireworks. Of course he would have to wait until it got darker to set any off, but it wouldn't hurt to get some now. He hadn't set any off since…well it was time to make new memories with other people now.

"Want to set them off on the roof?" Naminé asked.

"Yeah!"

"I think we have some fireworks left over in the cupboard somewhere," Roxas added.

"I thought you only had sparklers left from last year," Leon said, finally adding to the conversation. They had spent the New Years the year before with a small gathering of friends minus Sora who had needed to work that night. They set off fireworks and Sora had been disappointed that he had missed it when he went over the next day. But this year, he would set off fireworks with his friends and welcome in the New Year as well as new start at making his life better, starting with his love life.

"You know what my New Year's resolution is?" Sora asked to no one in particular and completely off topic, expecting no answer. "I'm gonna find somebody and finally have a good relationship this year. That's my New Year's resolution. To find somebody to love that loves me back!"

A short silence settled as he waited for his friends to say whether this was a good idea or not. Because he was pretty sure it wasn't, but if he didn't try to go into something like this positively it definitely will not end happily.

"That's a great resolution," Naminé said with that kind smile of hers.

"Yeah, just don't expect us to set you up with anybody," Roxas added, not looking away from the television, though Sora could see the smile he had as well. Sora looked over to Leon who stared back at him, quiet for a moment.

"Just don't do anything stupid when you find someone," he said, and then went back to watching the television with that same bored expression. Sora grinned and then jumped from the couch to the armchair, landing in Leon's lap.

"Oh Leon, you _do _care!" he said happily, hugging the surprised older man. Leon grunted and then proceeded to attempt to push Sora off of him. Roxas and Naminé made no attempts to help him either.

* * *

The trip to the store to get fireworks wasn't all that eventful, but it took much longer than Sora had anticipated. He now wished that Leon or Roxas at least had come with him. How he managed to get lost even after living in the city for so long, he had no clue, but it was quite clear that he was. Nothing looked familiar at all. He had the pretty explosives he had volunteered to go out and get before they all went out that night, but now he wasn't sure which way he needed to go to get back to the twins' apartment. If he could find some kind of landmark he knew, even just a familiar shop he had passed before, he would be fine!

He had tried stopping a few people that passed by for directions, but none wanted to even look at him, let alone give him the time of day. It was despairing actually. So Sora had resorted to wandering around until he found something he knew.

The crowd was thinning and before he knew it the sun was beginning to set. He had left around just before four, but as he looked at his cell to check the time, it was nearly six thirty and the sun was nearly gone. Of course, he had thought of calling Leon or one of the twins, but he didn't want to seem incapable of doing something as easy as this. He wasn't useless, and he wanted his friends to be able to depend on him to do something without needing their help. Besides, this was just getting to know a new part of the city. He was taking the scenic route.

Suddenly guitar strings strummed and plucked in a quiet melody, carrying itself gently into Sora's ears. It was wonderful, coming from an acoustic guitar it sounded like, and was barely audible above the crowd's din yet pierced through it so that Sora couldn't hear anything else. It really was a beautiful sound.

He followed it, trying to find the source. He turned the corner onto a less busy street, and there on the other side of the street between two buildings was a man in a long grey coat, dark sweater beneath, and worn out, falling apart jeans. He was strumming a guitar, acoustic like the sound implied, as people stopped short to listen to the chords and notes spilling from talented fingers. Then Sora looked up further at the man's face. His eyes were closed, but his skin was very light and he had shoulder length silver hair beneath a dark knit hat. Just that detail of his hair against the color of the hat was stunning. Even though people liked to dye their hair crazy colors these days, Sora hadn't seen too many people that dyed their hair silver, or could even pull it off. But this man…he definitely could.

Before he really knew what he was doing, Sora was on the other side of the street, stopping along with the few people crowding the performer. He stood there with them until the notes ended and the musician thanked them for listening and asked for donations to his cause. Everyone dropped something in, whether it was a few coins, or a few bills. Sora was the last to stand there. He was caught up in the man's eyes that decided to pin him down where he stood. They were aqua, a greenish color with a hint of blue. Gorgeous.

And that's when Sora had a mini melt down, as he realized he had just thought of the other man's eyes as gorgeous. Well, there was no denying that they were, but still, as a man Sora knew he should not be thinking of another man's eyes as beautiful…or gorgeous…or whatever the hell he had thought.

Meanwhile the man with the guitar raised an eyebrow at the man before him whose expressions changed very quickly and for no apparent reason before he shrugged and plucked his strings, making sure they were still in tune even in this cold weather.

Finally Sora got over his melt down and approached the man to drop some change into the guitar case by his feet. He smiled at the silver haired man, pushing away the fact that he had just freaked out over nothing.

"You play really well!" he said honestly. He admired the skill. He wished he'd had Demyx teach him when they were in high school, but he was sure it would be too late to learn now. And he would definitely never be at this man's level, no matter when he started anyway.

The man smirked at him. "Thank you." He paused. "Have I seen you somewhere before?"

His eyebrows were furrowed in concentration as he looked like he was trying to remember something. Sora frowned and thought back. He was pretty sure he hadn't met anyone with silver hair before. He was sure he would have remembered them if he had.

"No I don't think we've met before," Sora replied with a shake of his head. The silver haired man stared at him a little longer, hand gripping his chin in a thoughtful pose before he shrugged and went back to retuning his guitar to adjust to the cold.

"Oh well. Must have mistaken you for someone else. It happens I guess, since I meet so many people anyway," the man said nonchalantly. Then he looked at Sora again and smiled this time. "Thank you for your patronage, I hope you come back this way some time to listen again."

Sora was at a loss for words for some unknown reason. "Um, yeah. Sure," he replied with a smile of his own. And then he walked off with his fireworks in hand to the next corner, sure that he would probably never see the man again. He had seen many street performers, but they always moved around and he very rarely saw the same ones. Coincidentally, when he turned a corner not too far from the silver haired man it was a street he recognized. One that wasn't too far from the twins' apartment either.

Well…that was an ingenious stroke of luck he just had. He got to listen to a wonderful song (played by a man with beautiful eyes) and then found his way back to a place he knew. Though he didn't have much luck in general (and especially with love), he supposed the gods had forgiven him for an instant and decided he needed some pity. Perhaps, he hoped, the gods would pity him a little more and send a girl his way soon. That would be wonderful.

* * *

After setting of a few fireworks when Sora got home because it was already dark and they still had time to kill before the gig, Naminé made them some dinner to tide them over until they left. A few drinks were had between the four, and then it was time to head to the bar to see Demyx play. They got there with little trouble, and Cid greeted his employee and his friends with a round on the house, feeling generous with the New Year party feeling going around. Another band was just finishing up their set when they arrived, so they made it there just in time. After grabbing their free drinks, all four squeezed their way through the crowd to get closer to the stage.

The band took a while to get set up, but they were playing soon enough. Demyx introduced the band and advertised the Gullwing's Café as promised. And then came the blast of music that Sora and the others were so used to and enjoyed. It was familiar, even the new songs they hadn't heard before in practice. They moshed with the people around them and waved their arms (with the exception of Leon) to each song, and by the end, the air in the bar seemed a hundred times hotter than it had before the show.

"So, what'd you guys think?" Demyx asked, pouncing onto Sora after putting away the equipment safely. The other band members joined shortly after.

"It was awesome!" Sora exclaimed, turning around and hugging Demyx back.

"As expected from you, it was wonderful," Naminé added. Tifa slung an arm around the blonde girl's shoulders.

"Thanks hun. Glad you all showed up on time."

"We wouldn't miss it, you know that," Roxas said. Demyx, having just noticed the male twin squealed and launched himself onto Roxas, freeing Sora for the time being.

"And how has Roxy been?" he asked. Roxas glared at the sitar player for using the nickname and for his clingy-ness.

"I have been just fine until you jumped me," he replied with a frown. Demyx just grinned.

"Aw, c'mon. You love me. You missed me so much, you couldn't bear to be apart any longer!" he exclaimed, rubbing his cheek against his captive's. Roxas rolled his eyes.

"Yeah right. Who would miss you?"

Demyx gasped, as if he couldn't handle the thought of no one missing him, and then threw himself onto Zexion, who didn't have a book in hand for once. The silver haired man caught his band leader without missing a beat, but still managed to look bored. "You miss me, right Zexy?"

"I see you every day, moron," was the simple reply. This just started a staring match once again between the two as Demyx pestered his bandmate to reveal just how much he missed him.

While everyone engaged in conversation, Roxas decided to slip back to the bar for another drink. His had gotten knocked and spilt on some unfortunate man's clothes when they entered the crowd. Cid was there to greet and serve him when he reached the bar.

"Ready for another, kid?" the old man asked as he passed him a new glass.

"Didn't even get to drink the first one. Some idiot knocked it over and it spilled," Roxas replied with a bit of annoyance. The old man laughed and clapped his shoulder.

"Don't let it happen to this one. I won't let you have a third freebie."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever old man," the twin said, but smiled anyway. It was generous enough that he had given him a second one for free.

"Oh yeah, Axel was askin' where you were. I told 'im you weren't workin' tonight. He's still here if you wanna go ask what he wanted," Cid told him suddenly. Roxas furrowed his eyebrows. He didn't know anyone with that name.

"Who's Axel?"

Cid raised an eyebrow incredulously. "You need to pay more attention to your customers Rox. Axel's the red head that comes in a lot with his blond lady friend."

Roxas hummed and Cid walked off to serve some other customers. So that was that guy's name. Why was he asking for him anyway? They didn't exactly know each other that well. He just served the guy drinks and listened to him every once in a while. He was always there when the red head came in though, so he probably just assumed that Roxas would be there to serve him drinks like always—

"Roxas," a familiar voice called from close by. He looked up and there was the red head, making his way toward the twin. Cid probably told him that Roxas was here and that's why he was coming over. He settled into the seat next to the blonde boy.

"I thought Cid said you weren't working tonight?" Axel said before throwing back a shot. Another bartender came and refilled the tiny glass. Roxas sipped on his beer as he regarded his usual customer now that he was on the same side of the bar.

"I'm not. I came with some friends to see another friend's band perform," he replied.

"Oh really? Which band?" Another shot was thrown back and refilled.

"The one that finished not too long ago."

"The one with Demyx?"

Roxas looked surprised. "You know him?"

Axel grinned and chuckled. "We went to high school together. We keep in touch once in a while. He asked me to come see him tonight."

"Yeah he asked me too." There was a lull in the conversation, and both took sips of their drinks. "So where's the blonde you're always with?"

Roxas saw the small twitch the red head gave. "We aren't on speaking terms at the moment," Axel replied with a grin, though it seemed strained. Roxas frowned a little, and then downed the rest of his drink, getting rid of his glass.

"Come on. Spend the night with me and my friends," he said, beckoning to his regular customer. Axel raised an eyebrow.

"You sure about that?" he asked. Roxas scowled and replied, "Would I ask if I wasn't?"

Axel grinned and downed his shot. "I suppose not." And with that, he left his place at the bar and followed Roxas back into the crowd. At that point, Roxas wasn't sure whether he would regret his decision or not, but he decided to give the man a chance. He seemed like he needed a distraction anyway, and wasn't that what he usually offered the red head the nights he visited the bar anyway?

* * *

As the night moved on, the group moved to another bar where a good but little known band was playing before the countdown would start, but they were now in smaller numbers. Tifa and Cloud had stayed behind, not wanting to bar hop with the rest of them, and Demyx and Zexion had drifted off to another bar further down though they all suspected the pair was heading back to one or the other's apartments to "celebrate." In any case, that left Sora, Roxas, Naminé, Leon, and their newest companion Axel.

Roxas was starting to regret having brought him along, considering how he liked to tease the blonde twin. But the others seemed to like him well enough, and the red head seemed to have relaxed compared to when they had first met up at the bar. It left a nice feeling in the pit of his stomach, though he mostly glared at Axel and staved off the affectionate hugs he was prone to around the blonde the more alcohol he consumed.

They had fun and drank, celebrating the coming of a new year with friends. Naminé managed to get Leon to dance with her, which he did reluctantly but not without having a little fun. It didn't take long for Sora to drag Roxas and Axel to the dance floor as well, and they were all lost in the crowd moved by the music.

Sora laughed, having the time of his life. He was very glad he hadn't had to miss this, and he knew he would need that day off tomorrow if he was to sleep off all the alcohol Leon was buying him. He was keeping his promise at least, not being an emotional drunk, though he wasn't quite there yet. Still, Sora felt happy. Because he was having fun and he was with his friends. His resolution may be to find someone to love, but that didn't mean he couldn't enjoy himself in the meantime. When it got too hot, he decided it was time for another beer courtesy of Leon.

"Ah, sorry!" he said, accidentally bumping into someone. He had nearly fallen over, alcohol making his equilibrium questionable already, but someone had taken his arm and kept him upright. When he looked up he realized that it was the person he ran into. "Sorry," he repeated louder to be heard over the music with a sheepish grin.

"No problem," said the man before him. Silver hair was tied back into a pony tail, and for a second he feared he had run into his boss Sephiroth, but the face was different. Sora's eyes widened comically.

"Ah! It's you!" he said with surprise. "You were playing guitar outside earlier!"

It really was the same man. He had the same eyes and even wore the same clothes, though the hat and coat were gone. He smiled at the brunette indulgently. "Yes. I was hoping to earn some beer money so I could celebrate right, but it seems I only got enough for two."

"Oh, well that's unfortunate. But it's better than nothing, right?" Sora said, grinning right back at the man.

"I suppose. I'll just have to make them last then," he replied. Sora nodded, and then an idea popped into his head.

"Come with me! I'll buy you a drink!" he said good naturedly. It would be on Leon's tab so technically he wouldn't be paying, but his friend would never know. Besides, he felt he should get to know this man and what better way of doing it than over a beer?

The man followed Sora back to the bar where they sat and ordered their drinks. He turned to the silver haired man and said with a slight frown, "I never got your name."

"It's Riku Hartford. And yours?" the man said.

"Sora Hikari," the brunette told him. "Nice to meet you Riku."

"Nice to meet you too Sora," Riku replied. He chuckled a little then, taking the drink the bartender passed to him. "I remember where I saw you before now."

"Huh?" Sora tilted his head, confused, also taking his drink. He remembered Riku mentioning he'd seen Sora before, but his first time meeting the silver haired man had been on the streets when he was playing guitar.

"We ran into each other at the Gullwing's Café. You were on your way out and I was on my way in," Riku explained, an amused smile on his face for some unknown reason. "I remember the spiky hair."

Sora pouted a little. "My hair's always like this. I can't help it if it wants to point in every direction."

Riku just chuckled again, a deep sound that came from his chest Sora noted, and ruffled brunette hair.

"No need to get upset. It looks good on you."

Sora could feel a faint blush rising. He'd never been given many compliments, especially from good looking people like Riku. It felt weird. "Whatever," he muttered and took a gulp of his drink.

"So Sora. Have any New Year's resolutions?" Riku asked. Sora paused, wondering if he should tell him the truth or give him general resolutions everyone always made. Lose weight, manage money better…things like that. It was kind of personal after all. Still, he found himself saying the truth against his better judgment.

"To find somebody to fall in love with that will love me back," he said before he could stop it. He saw Riku raise an eyebrow and let his head fall to the bar's wooden surface with a thunk. He peeked up at his drinking companion. "Don't laugh at me now. I know it's a stupid resolution."

Riku just smiled kindly at him, though he did laugh a little. Fortunately it wasn't a demeaning kind of laugh, more like…it was warm. Sora still thought he was laughing at him though.

"I'm not laughing at you," the silver haired man said quickly to clear Sora's suspicions. "It's just a sweet resolution. I hadn't expected it."

Sora narrowed his eyes up at Riku. "Really?"

"Yes," the other replied. He met Sora's gaze with his own, and the brunette found himself looking away from the intensity. "Resolving yourself to find real love is a good goal."

"I suppose…" A hand ruffled his hair again and so he lifted his head and huffed at the other. "My hair's messed up as it is. No need to do that!"

Riku just shrugged and downed the rest of his drink. Seeing Riku's gone, Sora looked down at his own glass still half full. He took a breath and chugged it. It was probably not the smartest move he had ever made, but he didn't want to be the only one with a drink. He glanced at his companion, but Riku was looking away at the television screen showing New York's Times Square celebration in full swing and the ball about to descend the spire and signal the start of the New Year. Then he looked back and met Sora's eyes, mischief showing through, though Sora didn't quite know why.

"Let's count down and welcome in the New Year together," he said with a smile, which the brunette returned even though the alcohol was starting to go to his head now. The band had stopped playing while everyone's attention was on any of the monitors showing the countdown. They followed and chanted with everyone else in the city the ten numbers to close the end of the year.

"Seven, six, five," Sora said along with everyone else. Riku glanced at him counting with the crowd as well. "Four, three, two, one—!"

Before the brunette had a chance to yell Happy New Year with everyone else, the words were swallowed as he found soft lips attached to his belonging to a certain man with silver hair. Sora blinked, and then the lips were gone. It wasn't a long kiss and it certainly wasn't something he had been expecting. He was a bit shocked actually. Riku just smirked.

"It's tradition to kiss someone at midnight," he explained with a shrug. Sora raised his eyebrows in disbelief and then rolled his eyes. It's not like he was going to freak out about it since he had to deal with Demyx at times, but he hadn't been expecting it. And it was tradition after all, he supposed. It's not like he had anyone else to kiss.

"You're weird," he said with a good-natured smile.

* * *

**Author's Note:** I hope this hasn't been going too fast for you between Riku and Sora. But there is significance in their meetings. Let me know what you think in the form of reviews my lovelies. Until next time! :D


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: Important! **Ok. So, I shall be going on hiatus with this story as well as No Such Thing (which my Naruto fic in case you're like whaaaat?). This is because I'm having issues concentrating on these stories. There will be one more chapter for No Such Thing to let them know this as well before I stop. But this isn't gonna just end here, cause I actually like this one. I'll be working on it during my hiatus and I'll start up again once I've gotten enough chapters done. There shall also be some revamping so be aware you may need to re read some parts when I come back. In any case, that is all I needed to say. Have a lovely New Year (as Sora is trying to do haha) and I will see you again with the rest of the story at a later date!

**Disclaimer: **Don't own Kingdom Hearts or all the pretty characters within. So sad...

**Warnings: **boys loving boys, assumptions, hangovers, over protective friends, sexy silver haired men, questioning of sexuality, bad language among other things...

* * *

**Chapter 3**

Sora woke up on New Year's Day with the worst headache of his life. Well, maybe not the worst, he distinctly remembered waking up from the worst which he didn't really want to think about now, but this one was well up there in the running. The sun shining through the window and the noisy traffic outside wasn't helping at all either. And so it was with an irritated groan that Sora sat up and decided that his day could have started better; at least he didn't have to work until the next day.

He was about to stand up when he noticed that something was off. He felt weird and the sheets were…rubbing against bare skin? Sora had a mild breakdown, much like the one yesterday when he had first officially met Riku, as to the reason _why_ he was naked in the first place. He hadn't gotten drunk and taken a stranger home had he?

As if to answer the panicked thought, a low mumble sounded to his left and then an arm fell into his lap. Sora froze. He really did bring someone home last night…although these things happened when one got inexorably drunk, he supposed, trying to make everything better. Maybe it wasn't that bad. Maybe she was really pretty or something. He stared down at the arm in his lap, only a sheet separating the appendage from his bare skin, and noticed that it was rather well developed and bigger than a girl's arm should be. But maybe she was some kind of weight lifting champion and that would explain the extra muscle. He was starting to scare himself and began to hope desperately, as he traced the arm back to the owner, that if she had to be a buff chick, at least she would be a decent, good looking buff chick. How desperate would he be if he just took anyone home that would come with him last night?

What he saw, though, was not something he had expected. The person was on lying on their stomach, so the first thing he saw was a wide, muscular back and strong shoulders. The sheets covered half of it and downward. Above that was a long neck and silver hair swept up into a ponytail, though most of it was falling out at this point. The person's face was turned away and buried into the pillow, but Sora had never met many people in his life that had silver hair. Nervously he thought, it could either be someone he'd met randomly sometime after getting too drunk to remember anything, or it was…

"Mmm, wan' waffles," the person mumbled in a distinctly masculine voice and then shifted, removing their arm from Sora's lap. The voice was too low to be a girl's, too smooth as well, he thought but Sora banished that thought from his mind. He held his breath as the person slowly pushed themself up and finally looked at the frozen brunette. Blue met green and it was just like he thought, apprehensively. It was Riku.

Sora nearly fainted at the thought. Riku. It was Riku in his bed. He had taken Riku home last night and did who knew what with him, all while he was drunk, and oh god this was embarrassing! He was pretty sure his face was hot enough to burn off at this point.

Riku watched the freak out and increasing blush with a raised eyebrow and sat up, wrapping the sheets around his lower half like he needed covering. Oh god, oh god, oh god, _there's a naked man in my bed_, oh god, oh god, oh god, was the mantra Sora had going on in his mind at the moment.

"We didn't have sex, you know," the silver haired man said calmly, watching for Sora's reaction. He looked instantly relieved until the next statement. "Just some heavy petting and that's about it."

"Th-that's the same thing!" the brunette exclaimed, coming out of his stupor at last, any and all thoughts of a headache and hang over gone. God, why did he have to bring Riku home? He just met the guy! And besides, _Riku_ was a _guy_ for crying out loud! He wasn't gay now, was he? He wasn't sure what he was supposed to think if he was.

"I don't know. I thought we hit it off pretty well last night. Besides, don't think of it as being gay, think of it as being free spirited, like in the seventies. Free love and all," Riku said nonchalantly. Sora paused, feeling fairly embarrassed at this point.

"I said all that out loud didn't I?" he asked. Riku nodded, smirk falling into place. The brunette groaned and buried his head in his arms, which were now crossed and propped up by his knees. The bed shifted, but Sora didn't want to lift his head, his face already bright red with embarrassment. Why the hell did he bring a guy home?

"You know," Riku began. "We didn't actually do anything. I was just messing with you."

Sora looked up, hopefully, and found Riku standing in the middle of his room clad only in his boxers, scratching his head and stretching simultaneously. The abs in the silverette's stomach elongated tauntingly as he reached for the sky and Sora refused to acknowledge the lean midsection or any other naked part of Riku. He was already envious of the more muscular build Riku had from one glance at it without needing to stare. Especially after having woken up with said better built person in his bed.

"Would you mind if I used your shower?" Riku asked, looking around the small messy room with interest. Then he turned to look into Sora's eyes, who felt another blush coming up even though Riku had said nothing had actually happened last night.

"S-sure," he mumbled. "Go ahead. It's the, um—the room next door."

Riku shrugged with an easy going smile. "Thanks." And then walked out to go take his shower.

Sora, meanwhile, stayed where he was in bed, sheets still covering his naked body. What…the hell had happened? He really couldn't remember anything for the life of him. He remembered being at the bar and drinking with everyone. Then he bumped into Riku and bought him a drink. Then midnight came and Riku kissed him, which was natural because you're supposed to kiss someone at midnight on New Years anyway, right? But after that, there were a few more drinks to be had and dancing, lots of dancing. With Naminé and Leon and Roxas, and even Riku once, he thought. But lots of things were fuzzy and after that there wasn't much he could even remember. His hangover decided to rage again and his head throbbed painfully. Reaching for the blinds from his bed, he pulled them shut. Much better.

He could hear the water from the shower in the next room over, making him very aware that someone was in his house and he was currently still naked. He still wasn't sure what had happened to lead to him being naked with Riku in his bed, nearly naked as well, but he certainly didn't want to go around without anything on while he wasn't in a drunken stupor. That just wasn't what a normal person did.

So he got up, not quite sure how long it had been since Riku had started his shower but knowing he wanted to be dressed as soon as possible anyway. He stood up, getting a bit of a head rush as he did, but he managed to steady himself. He picked up a pair of boxers, some jeans thrown away from the day before and not yet put away, and a loose dark blue T-shirt he had wanted to wear but decided against yesterday. Hands ran through messy brown hair, pulling out a few tangles, but otherwise leaving it alone since it always stuck up in random directions anyway.

Looking around his room, Sora felt almost abashed that Riku had seen it in such a state. He hadn't had anyone over in such a long time, and rarely did they go into his bedroom, so he hadn't kept it quite as clean as the rest of the apartment. Although the rest of the apartment was something like organized chaos, he liked to keep it relatively clean and free of debris and dirty dishes. His room was another story with clothes thrown wherever, a few cups sitting on his dresser, and other miscellaneous things strew about. He frowned a little and started cleaning the floor a little so that it was at least visible. The things on his dresser and night table could wait until another time.

During his attempt at cleaning he found clothes that did not belong to him, and ones that looked familiar from last night. They were Riku's. Right. That would make sense. Well he supposed, as he "made" his bed, he could at least lay out his…guest's clothes out somewhere he could find them. Picking up the shirt and jeans, both felt very worn and weathered, like fabric that had been thinned with plenty of use and was hardly good to use as protection from the cold of New York's winter. This made Sora frown a little in concern. But…he'd had that big, heavy looking coat when he'd first seen Riku. Although he didn't see it lying on the floor of his room, he was sure it would be somewhere out in the living room. Riku wouldn't go out without some kind of coat to go over thin clothes like those.

The shower stopped abruptly, pulling Sora out of his thoughts. Why was he holding Riku's clothes again? With a shake of his head, he dropped the clothing onto the bed and left for the kitchen before Riku returned to change.

Now, Sora wasn't exactly the best chef in the world, but he could do simple things without burning them. Eggs and toast being some of the few recipes that normally came out well enough. And coffee and orange juice also went well with this kind of breakfast. Considering he had a guest, though he hadn't planned on having one, Sora decided to make a serving for Riku as well. After drinking three cups of water plus two tablets of painkillers to help dispel the headache that came with a hang over, he started on breakfast. He was halfway through when Riku appeared, now fully clothed though his hair was still damp. Sora gave him an uncertain smile and nodded to the table.

"Go ahead and sit. I'm making eggs and toast," he said, and then turned back to the food. He heard the scraping of the wooden chair on the tiled floor and the creak of the old cushion as Riku sat in it. Sora had to admit it had been a while since he had cooked for someone. Granted, people usually cooked for him since he normally burned everything, but still, it was mostly the fact that he was cooking breakfast for someone that made him a little happy and nostalgic. But when he served the eggs and toast onto each plate he had taken out and turned to give one to his guest, that feeling of awkwardness from earlier returned to him. He could feel his cheeks heating up again.

"Um, here," he said quickly and sat down, passing Riku his plate. He could feel aquamarine eyes on him, but he shot back up soon enough. "Um, do you want coffee?"

"With a little milk would be nice," Riku replied easily. Sora almost scowled. He felt so tense and awkward with Riku just sitting there, but the silverette seemed completely comfortable and at home where he was. As if he wasn't staying at a stranger's house. Granted they had talked a little on the street and at the bar, and yes Sora had taken him home with him, but they didn't really know each other. They were still considered strangers, right? Or at the very least acquaintances. And Sora had never woken up to see an acquaintance in his bed.

But Sora hurried off to get Riku his coffee with a little milk, as well as a glass of orange juice for himself. When he sat back down, drinks distributed, he could still feel Riku's eyes on him. So he looked up and met the stare with a pout.

"What?"

Riku shook his head. "Nothing."

Sora rose an eyebrow. "O…kay?" And they began eating the warm breakfast food. It was quiet, something Sora was used to, though not when there was another person in the room. He was normally a chatterbox with other people, but he couldn't find anything to say in this situation. It was like he was nervous for some reason.

"You're cute, you know?" Riku said suddenly, and then popped some more eggs in his mouth to chew on. Sora, meanwhile, sputtered and coughed, choking on the piece of toast he had been about to swallow. Riku had the decency to look concerned, though he chuckled while he reached over, patted his host on the back, and made sure he was all right. Sora's eyes watered a little while he managed to calm himself down and shot his guest an incredulous look.

"I'm a guy. You don't call a guy cute," he said, coughing a little in between still. The silverette just shrugged and took another bite of his eggs.

"Doesn't change the fact," he replied nonchalantly, with just the hint of a teasing tone audible.

"Yeah, also doesn't change the fact that people still think I'm a teenager," Sora grumbled. A pout appeared, punctuating the point by making him look even more childish.

"Oh, so you're not? I thought you just had a fake ID last night so you could get beer," Riku replied, smirking from across the table. When the pout turned into a scowl, Riku laughed. "I was kidding, just kidding. You look about…21?"

"I'm 25, thank you very much," Sora said. His scowl had lightened but hadn't disappeared completely. He was sensitive about how young he looked and how it often resulted in others treating him like a child. He often got carded when drinking with his friends when he had the time as well, so it was a hassle that no one believed him. He really _was_ 25. To his relief Riku didn't seem amazingly surprised by his actual age. He just leaned back in the chair and drank some of his coffee.

"Fair enough. I'm 26, by the way."

"Really?" Sora said, raising an eyebrow. "You seem…older? I mean, not older age wise, cause you actually look like you're 26 now that you mention it. It's just, you seem more…mature I guess? I don't know."

Another gulp of coffee was taken.

"I'm just more weather worn than you, probably. And I play guitar."

"Yeah," Sora snorted. "Because knowing how to play a guitar equals maturity."

"Hey, people dig people that play guitar," Riku replied, his hands up like there was nothing he could do about the amount of people that apparently 'dug' him because he played an instrument.

"You know which instrument player doesn't get enough action? A triangle player."

"Well to be fair, there isn't much a triangle can do as a solo in a performance."

"I suppose."

Both plates and cups were empty and clear by this time, so they sat across from each other, not quite knowing what to do. They had only met each other the other day, really, and now they were sharing breakfast after having apparently shared a bed. Sora fidgeted, suddenly remembering this fact, not quite sure what to make of why he had been naked if nothing had happened between them. And since he couldn't remember, well, he may as well ask Riku who could remember the night before, right?

"There really was nothing that happened last night, you know. If you're worried about that," Riku answered for him without even hearing the question. Sora smiled sheepishly. Was his discomfort really that obvious?

"So then what _did_ happen? I don't remember much past midnight aside from some dancing and more drinks."

Riku leaned back in his chair again, having moved his dishes aside. "Well there _was_ dancing, and then your tall friend—Leon I think it was—decided you had too much and decided to take you home. The others stayed at the bar, and since Leon looked like he needed some help handling you, I helped." He paused and shook his head. "I don't think he liked me very much."

Sora nodded, as it was probably true. Leon wasn't the friendliest person in the world, especially when it came to new people around the younger brunette. He seemed to think Sora needed protecting, which although he appreciated, he wasn't sure he wanted happening this time. Even though waking up naked next to a man he had met yesterday was really very awkward, he liked Riku well enough to want to get to know him more. And if it happened that he and Riku became friends, well, he would have to tell Leon to back off a little.

"Anyway," the silverette continued, "we took you back here, with lots of yelling from you, and put you to bed. Leon got a call from someone and had to leave, but you wouldn't let go of my shirt, so he left me here too after I promised not to take advantage of you."

That surprised Sora. Protective Leon had left him drunk and alone with a stranger? Granted he was probably passed out by then and it was nice that he had trusted Riku's word, though he had no idea why he would make the silverette promise not to take advantage of him (he was straight after all); it was strange. Normally Leon would have stayed with him when he was drunk, and thrown out the stranger as soon as he was done helping take Sora home. It must have been something very important for Leon to be pulled away like that. But Riku continued, keeping the brunette from wondering who could have called.

"So I stayed a while to make sure you'd be okay, and when I was going to leave, you grabbed me again and told me to stay." Riku smirked. "I couldn't resist and say no to that adorable face of yours, so I stayed and slept in the bed with you like you told me to. At some point you decided it was too hot, so you took off all your clothes. I didn't really care so I let you do it as long as you didn't hurt yourself in the process."

Sora blushed hard. Well that explained why he hadn't had any clothes on. He wasn't quite sure why he had decided it was hot enough to remove _all of his clothes in the middle of winter_, but he would probably never know what his train of thought had been then, half asleep and drunk at the time. In any case, he needed to apologize to Riku.

"I'm sorry for the trouble I caused last night and making you stay here. You probably wanted to go back home, didn't you?" he said. He felt bad for having made Riku stay overnight at a stranger's without any warning. But the silver haired man shrugged.

"It's fine," he replied easily. "I'm used to sleeping wherever I can anyway, and your place is definitely nicer than where I'm staying now."

"Where do you live?"

"I'm squatting in a building not too far from where you saw me the other day. It's nice, but there isn't much hot water and the electricity is iffy some times."

"So you don't really have a home?"

"Nah, it's home. Just not a permanent one. I'm used to moving around anyway. I'd feel weird if I stayed somewhere for an extended period of time."

"I see…"

Well, Sora hadn't expected that. So Riku was a wandering homeless type. He didn't seem too concerned about not having a permanent residence or any reason he may have for not having one. As Sora processed this information about his new friend, Riku took the moment to study him.

"Do you believe in fate?" the silver haired man asked, leaning so that his chin was now resting in his palm while he continued to examine the brunette in front of him. Sora was pulled out of his thoughts at this question and wasn't quite sure how to answer a question like that. He hadn't given the idea of fate much thought before.

"I don't know," he answered honestly. He wondered where Riku was going with that question, as well. "Do you?"

"Within reason," Riku replied. "Did you know that if you encounter someone three times, it's considered fate?"

Sora raised his eyebrows in surprise. No, he hadn't known that. Riku smiled.

"Would you like to know what I think?" he asked, a rhetorical question he didn't expect to be answered. He continued before Sora even thought to say anything in response. "I think it was fate that lead us to meet, and that fate had a specific reason for our meeting."

"And what would that be?" the brunette asked when Riku paused for a moment. He wasn't sure he wanted to hear the answer when the smile turned into a good-natured smirk.

"That I was brought to you to help you fulfill your resolution and become your boyfriend," he replied confidently.

Sora just stared at his guest, partly in disbelief, partly in confusion. He wasn't sure he had heard Riku correctly. Did he just suggest that he become Sora's boyfriend, that they _date_ each other? When they had just met each other the day before? No, wait, that wasn't the big problem. They were both _guys_! Sora wasn't interested in guys, or at least he hadn't ever had an interest in them. He wasn't interested in Riku either. But here he was, suggesting that Sora date him because of something like a destined meeting and the fact that his resolution was to find someone to love. The universe couldn't really be that cruel, could it?

But as he looked at Riku's face, which still held the smirk, he saw no trace of a joke in his expression. So he had to ask, "You're serious?"

"Completely. I'm a big believer in fate and things like that," Riku replied. Sora blinked.

Of course. _Of course_ the universe would send him a guy just to spite him after hearing the selfish wish as his resolution. What better way to top his horrible track record of relationships than to throw in a guy as well? He really _was_ meant to be alone for the rest of his life, wasn't he?

With a groan, Sora let his head hit the table beside his empty plate and mumbled, "What the hell?"

Riku, on the other hand, leaned forward with concern in his eyes. "You okay?"

Sora didn't lift his head. He didn't want to lift his head and face this new disaster waiting to happen that the universe decided to give him. What was the point? He realized he was being mellow dramatic, but he really wasn't sure why he had been sent a guy. Sure Riku was beautiful, err—handsome, he corrected in his head. But Riku was a guy. If he had been a girl or vice versa, everything might have been able to work out. As it was, Sora wasn't sure how this was supposed to work. He didn't _want_ a boyfriend.

A large hand rested on his head and ran through his hair.

"Hey, you okay?" Riku asked again. Sora groaned again, mumbling something the silvered haired man couldn't quite hear. "Sorry, what was that?"

"'m not gay!" the brunette protested quietly, cheeks burning from embarrassment. Riku's eyebrows went up and his eyes sparkled in amusement as he sat back in his chair, taking his hand (which had felt quite good going through Sora's hair, though he'd never admit it) with him.

"Don't think of it as being gay. If you go out with me, it's not like you're going to want to go be with a bunch of other guys, right? Because you'll only be looking at me that way, just like I'll look only at you this way."

Sora glanced up slowly at the silverette and caught a flash of smoldering aquamarine eyes. This only served to make him blush even more and hide his face again, not wanting to see eyes like those that made him shiver at the passion in them. It was weird! He wasn't used to a girl looking at him like that, much less a _guy!_ And it was someone he had only just met! What did Riku even know about him anyway to make him ask Sora out?

Sora just knew Riku was going to say something else outlandish, but luckily the doorbell rang just then and saved him from further embarrassment and ridiculous situations pertaining to gorgeous silver haired men. So he jumped up quickly, hitting his shin on the table as he tried to maneuver around it, and ran for the door to thank whoever his savior was. Without checking who it was, he threw open the door and was faced with Leon and a smaller girl he hadn't met personally, but recognized from photos he had rummaged through at Leon's. She had brown hair just like the older man that was cut short and wore a yellow dress under a puffy dark blue coat. She looked curiously from beside Leon at Sora who offered them both a grin.

"Uh, hey…guys…what's up?" he asked. Leon raised an eyebrow and then walked in without invitation, the girl following close behind, flashing a grin of her own at Sora.

"How are you feeling?" the older brunette asked as he walked in, and then paused, seeing Riku sitting at the table lazily leaning back. The silverette waved to Leon with a smirk.

"Yo," Riku said. Leon didn't respond, but turned back to the owner of the apartment.

"What the hell is he still doing here?" he asked harshly. Sora laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Um…I wouldn't let go of him last night I guess, so…yeah."

"So you made him breakfast?"

"I can cook!" Sora protested. Leon gave him a flat look saying, _that wasn't what I meant, idiot_. "Well…I mean, why not?"

Leon sighed, a mix between exasperated, frustrated and tired. There were light smudges of purple beneath his eyes, so Sora could tell his friend hadn't exactly had the best of nights.

"You really need to learn when to kick people out who have overstayed their welcome," he muttered, though Sora heard him. The smaller brunette frowned.

"Riku's fine. He can stay if he wants. He's a friend."

Before Leon could explain exactly why Sora shouldn't be trusting strangers especially since they lived in the city, the sound of a chair scrapping against the floor sounded. Riku had collected the dishes from the table and was putting them in the sink. He then turned to both of them and headed for the front door. He paused by the two and threw a smirk at Sora.

"Think about it, okay? I have to go now, but I'll come back later to hear your answer," he said. Sora just blushed bright red and refused to look away from Leon, who was glaring at the silverette. Riku just shrugged and gave a little wave as he continued on his route for the door, pulling on his coat, which he had draped over his arm. "Later."

The door opened and closed, and then all was quiet in the apartment. Sora shifted awkwardly in front of Leon, now looking at anything but the brunette, who was now scrutinizing him for some reason. Riku really wasn't serious about it, was he?

"Who was that? He was _hott!_" said the young girl who had come in with Leon. She was on the couch, leaning forward over the armrest. A sly grin was on her face as she waggled her eyebrows when both boys looked over at her. Leon frowned.

"He's too old for you. Go watch TV for a little, I need to talk with Sora right now," he said, giving a meaningful glance to the younger boy. Sora still refused to look at Leon and shuffled in place again. He saw the girl stick out her tongue at his friend, but turned and slumped back onto the couch to do as she was told. Leon, meanwhile, pulled Sora closer to the kitchen and sat him down at the table while he glared down at the younger boy.

"Tell me again why he was here?" he growled. Sora pouted.

"I told you, he stayed the night because I was drunk and wouldn't let go of him," he replied, leaving out the parts where he woke up naked with a very nearly naked Riku next to him. "Besides, he's a nice guy and I think he needed a place to stay anyway."

"You just met him yesterday. At a bar," Leon said, scowling. "You need to be more aware of your actions and people around you. And what was he talking about, coming over later?"

Sora blushed all over again. "U-um, it was nothing! He was just—just asking my opinion of something and then you came before I could give him an answer. That's all!" he stuttered, grasping for an excuse. He could tell his friend wasn't buying it, but he needed to distract Leon for now until he figured some things out. And he didn't want Leon disliking Riku anymore than he apparently already did.

"Um, so who's that?" he asked quickly, pointing to the couch, before Leon had a chance to say anything else against Riku and Sora's decision making skills. The taller brunette didn't even look back and knew Sora was trying to redirect the conversation, but he could let that go for now. Sora was obviously flustered for some reason, and Leon would find out sooner or later. So he decided he could answer that question for now instead.

"That's Selphie. My cousin."

"At your service!" the girl said, popping up from behind Leon and making Sora jump. When the hell did she get behind Leon? She gave him a grin and a salute. Sora just settled himself and returned the grin as well as he could after that little fright.

"Hey. I'm—"

"Sora right? Leon said we were gonna visit you so he could explain why he had to leave you alone with 'that bastard'," Selphie said, cutting in. Leon glared down at her as she prattled on, muttering about language. "He didn't seem like such a bastard though and pretty easy on the eyes too. Wouldn't mind that guy staying the night with _me_, if you know what I mean?"

She waggled her eyebrows again but stopped when Leon's glare turned into a glower. She laughed nervously, poked him quickly in the stomach, and then rushed back to take cover behind the couch. Leon just sighed.

"She ran away last night. Hopped a bus to New York trying to find me, so I had to go look for her because she was lost and crying about being alone in the big city," he explained. Selphie blew a raspberry over the back of the couch, but squeaked and resumed hiding when Leon gave her another glare. Sora smiled.

"That's fine. She's safe and sound now, right? I wouldn't want you to stay with me if it meant she had to be alone at night. It's not safe, especially for girls," he replied.

"I still should have made sure that bastard got kicked out before I left," Leon said, a frown on his lips once again.

"…Were you worried about me?" Sora asked sweetly.

"I didn't want you doing anything stupid. That's why I came back to check on you," Leon replied with a roll of his eyes. Sora grinned.

"Well thank you for worrying about me. You're such a good friend!"

Leon grunted. "Whatever." He turned and went to the couch, pulling Selphie up. She allowed herself to be pulled and then used the momentum to pounce on him. She giggled while Leon simply looked very unenthused. Then he looked back over at Sora.

"I have to finish some things back at home with this brat, so I'll see you later. Naminé wanted us to have lunch with them later," he said, and headed toward the door, Selphie hanging from his shoulders, still giggling. "You better have a better explanation for what that bastard was asking too."

Sora laughed nervously. "Right. See you later then," he said, not looking forward to making up another excuse that Leon may actually accept. Selphie waved to him as the pair got to the door, falling off of Leon in the process. She picked herself up quickly enough and followed her cousin.

"Bye Sora! We'll talk more next time, 'kay?" she exclaimed.

"Yeah, see you later," Sora replied, waving back. Leon gave a little wave and then shut the door behind them after pulling Selphie out of the way.

The apartment was quiet, now void of people except the owner. Sora let himself slump a little bit, not needing to hold himself up while around others anymore, head hanging forward as he sighed. What the hell was he supposed to do now?

* * *

Meanwhile, in another apartment not too far away…

"Hello sunshine!" a voice called from the couch, surprising Roxas who had been innocently walking into his kitchen to rid himself of the mild headache that came from drinking as much as he had the night before. The voice belonged to one who most certainly did not live there, and one he vaguely remembered being a pain in the ass drunk who didn't know left from right the night before. Hence the reason for it being in his house. The red head grinned lazily over the back of the couch and took a swig of coffee from a mug in his hand. Beside his regular patron was his twin, holding her own mug of coffee. She offered him a smile and a soft good morning. Roxas just scowled because his head hurt and Axel had overstayed his welcome in the blonde boy's mind. He would have kicked Axel out last night if the idiot had been able to stay conscious, much less make it back to his own place.

So he ignored the red head and continued into the kitchen where he would be out of sight and able to get rid of his hangover. Why had he let Sora talk him into drinking more than usual again? Right, because he was already drunk and Roxas tended to do stupid things when he was drunk. At least he could remember most of it. He wasn't so sure how well Sora was fairing now, though. He just hoped Leon had gotten that idiot home safely. He'd have to call and make sure later. For now though…

"Hey Roxy."

…he'd have to deal with this red-haired idiot before he could deal with the brunette. Turning, Roxas scowled over his recently poured coffee.

"Don't call me that."

A shrug. Axel slinked further into the kitchen, closer to Roxas who stood his ground stubbornly and continued to scowl. The blonde twin cursed his height as Axel approached, easily a head taller than the twin, even slouching as he was. This man had to be some kind of giant!

"Hey, no need to be hostile," his guest said casually. A casual grin tilted his lips and he leaned a little too comfortably against the counter beside the blonde. He acted confident, like he owned the place. Although Roxas had always thought the red head had acted confidently before at the bar when they used to talk when the woman would leave, he hadn't seen it this clearly until now. And it was damn annoying.

Deciding to be at least a little courteous, he gestured to the coffee maker. "You want some more coffee?"

"I'm fine thank you. Besides, I know how to hold my alcohol so my hangovers aren't all that bad," Axel replied with a wink. Roxas flushed and glared at that. He could hold his alcohol too, he was just getting egged on by an already drunk Sora to have more than he could handle.

"Then what do you want?" the blonde asked, scowling again.

"Just wanted to see how you were doing. You drank a lot last night," Axel replied with a shrug, his voice at once teasing and concerned. Roxas raised an eyebrow. Was this guy…worried about him?

"I'm fine. I just drank more than usual so now I have a headache," he said. "Don't you have things to do?"

Axel's hang fell back. "Not really. I'm free until work starts again on the third, so I've got some time to myself." He looked over at Roxas. "Entertain me?"

"No thanks," was the swift response. "I think I had enough of you last night."

"Aww," Axel said with a wounded look, "but I have nothing to do! And what better way to waste time than following around a cute blonde that can make me drinks?"

"I'm not a woman so don't call me cute, and I won't make you drinks unless I'm working, where it's required. Besides, I don't appreciate people following me around. Especially ones with bright red hair," the blonde told him. Axel thought for a moment

"Hmm…maybe I should change my hair color then…"

"Stupid, that doesn't change anything if you do that," Roxas said with a frown. He actually liked the bright red hair. He just wasn't sure how he felt about the man that owned it. Axel was nice enough, but he was cocky and liked to mess with the blonde on occasion when the two were alone. And then the night before they had gotten to talk more without a bar and other customers between them. Axel was the same as he was behind the bar, but there had been more touching and they had been closer than before. Roxas wasn't sure how he felt about that barrier being removed. He hadn't hung out with a customer in his time off before, let alone a regular like Axel.

"So you like my hair then?" the red head asked, a smirk appearing.

"No, I'm just saying that dying it wouldn't make you any less annoying," Roxas replied, rolling his eyes.

"Oh, so cruel Roxy. And after all that time we spent together…" A loud vibrating went off and, thinking it was his, Roxas wondered where his phone had gotten. He didn't remember setting it down anywhere, so it was probably still in his pants back in his room. But Axel pulled a sleek black phone from his pocket and checked the message. He was silent and the joking, teasing attitude had gone away. And then, after putting away his phone, Axel walked out of the kitchen. Curious, Roxas followed.

"Unfortunately, I need to leave now. Something came up," he said, pulling on his shoes that were left near the doorway, followed by his coat. He looked up and back at Roxas and Naminé, who could see the red head from her place on the couch.

"Thanks for letting me stay overnight," he said, and then shifted his attention solely on Roxas. "I'll come back and bother you later," he said with a wink.

Roxas felt his cheeks heat a little and glared at the man who simply smirked and left the twins apartment. Now that Axel was gone, Roxas wasn't sure what had just happened. Obviously something important came up, causing him to leave. But he was certain that the red head would be back soon enough. Roxas wasn't sure how he felt about that either. But he could hear Naminé giggling softly in the background.

"He seems fun," she said.

"Fun, my ass," was Roxas's reply.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Yep. That's it. Well, I'll try to get my stuff together and get this done so I can get back here and you can all read the rest of this! In the mean time I hope you enjoy this chapter and let me know what ya think. Thank you very much and please be patient! Until then!


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